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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: 29th Republican - Tom Reynolds - Says Adios To House Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), who barely hung onto his House seat in 2006 after the Mark Foley page scandal, is announcing today that he is retiring from Congress. Reynolds was once considered a likely candidate to succeed House Speaker Dennis Hastert but now becomes the 29th Republican to decline to run for reelection and the second former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee to announce his departure. The Republican exodus is hardly surprising now that Democrats have taken over control of the chamber, as well as the chairmanships, perks and privileges that come with being in the majority. In 1994, when Republicans won the majority, 28 Democrats decided to retire rather than trying to stick around and remain powerless. "With today's announcement, five of six elected Republican leaders from the 2006 cycle have retired or quit – Dennis Hastert, Tom DeLay, Deborah Pryce, John Doolittle, and Tom Reynolds,” said Jennifer Crider, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “Democrats already hold two of those seats and are competitive in the rest.” Crider said Democrats are feeling good as they head into the 2008 election. "Republicans should have a historical advantage this cycle, but they've been stuck on defense,” she said. “With less than eight months until Election Day, the NRCC seems to get a Republican retirement a week and still has major recruiting holes, internal problems, and little money to defend their vulnerable incumbents. Democrats have more opportunities than we can afford." Not surprisingly, Republicans see the situation a little differently. Most of the retirements come from traditionally Republican districts where President Bush has performed well in the last two elections. “With John McCain at the top of the ticket and widespread disapproval of the Democrat-led Congress, Republican candidates will be provided with plenty of fodder for the fall,” said Ken Spain, spokesman for the NRCC, who contends that Republicans will hold onto Reynolds’ seat. Reynolds’ rising star took a serious nose-dive after it became public that he was one of the House Republican leaders who knew that former Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) had sent inappropriate emails to former pages but did little about it. Reynolds held onto his seat with just 52 percent of the vote. In previous years he won by margins as high as 74 percent.
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